Carrier device for garments on hangers

ABSTRACT

A carrier device for articles such as garments supported on hangers, wherein a flexible strap is formed into an endless band, the strap at one side of the band being threaded through one opening of a buckle frame constructed with two openings therein, a portion of the strap adjacent that which is threaded through said one opening being folded upon itself and passed through the other of said buckle openings to provide an adjustable loop on one side of the buckle for receiving the supporting hooks of the hangers, and a hand grip-carrying loop on the other side, the buckle frame being tiltable upon the application of a pulling or hanging force on the hand grip portion to grippingly engage the strap portions which are positioned in said other buckle opening and retain the hook-receiving loop in its adjusted position.

United States Patent in] ,55 7

[72] Inventor gi S d C Calf 91604 FOREIGN PATENTS l airw tu i ity, i e11 pp No 760,839 o51,982 /1937 Germany 224/l.l [22] Filed Sept. 19, 1968Primary Examiner-Gerald M. Forlenza 451 Patented Jan. 12, 1971AIwrneyPau1A-We1lem [54] GARMENTS ON HANGERS ABSTRACT: A carrier devicefor articles such as garments supported on hangers, wherein a flexiblestrap is formed into [52] US. Cl 224/45, an endless band the Strap atone Side of the b being 224/55 threaded through one opening of a buckleframe constructed Cl 5/10 with two openings therein, a portion of thestrap adjacent that Field of Search 294/74; which is threaded throughSaid one opening being folded upon 224/45, 5 itself and passed throughthe other of said buckle openings to 56 provide an adjustable loop onone side of the buckle for receiving the su portin hooks of the ban ers,and a hand [56] References cued grip-carrying on th e other side, the buckle frame being UNITED STATES PATENTS tiltable upon the application ofa pulling or hanging force on 277,494 5/1883 Lindsay (244/49)UX the handgrip portion to grippingly engage the strap portions 577,668 2/ 1897Stellner 224/45 which are positioned in said other buckle opening andretain 3,362,599 1/1968 Galazin 224/45 the hook-receiving loop in itsadjusted position.

PATENTEU JAN] 2 I9?! 7 Quasi l l 1M 1 I l u h 2 v w E IN V ENTO R s muaW V0202 v BY ArraeA/ey The present invention relates broadly toarticle-carrying devices.

l-leretofore, it has been common practice for travellers and others tocarry a plurality of garments on conventional coat hangers of the typeused by dry cleaners which have a supporting hook thereon. In order tosave time, most people endeavor to carry a plurality of garments at atime and for such purpose may tie the hanger hooks by means of a string.At other times, as in the case where the garment hangers are within agarment bag with the hooks extending through the top of the garment bag,the hooks may be gathered together and simply grasped without having thehooks tied together. In any event, such makeshifts are inconvenient andunsatisfactory and may even result in danger to the persons hand whilecarrying the garments the hooks tending to adversely affect circulationin the hands or even may damage the skin by being pinched between thehanger hooks or cut by the ends of the hooks.

The disadvantages and possible hazards which may occasion thesemakeshift methods have been heretofore appreciated, and a variety ofapproaches have been made to overcome the inherent disadvantages of theaforementioned makeshift procedures by designing a carrying device whichcould be utilized in connection with a plurality of hangers. One suchdevice is disclosed in the Hooker US. Pat. No. 3,313,460 which providesan elongate ring-shaped handle member of rigid material, which thepatentee states may be from about 4 inches or less in length toapproximately inches or more. A second rigid ring for receiving thehanger hooks therein is connected to the handle ring at a fixed positionor may be slidably supported thereon and includes a universal jointconnection between the rings. While this device provides a support for aplurality of hangers, the device is bulky and not easily stowed when notin use. This is particularly important to travellers, in which case itis extremely desirable to have a device which can be folded or otherwisearranged to occupy a small space when not in use. Devices such asdisclosed in the above noted patent also have the inherent disadvantagethat the possibility of pinching the fingers between moving parts hasnot been eliminated.

in the present invention, the inherent disadvantages and problemsattending the known structures as evidenced by the above noted patent,have been solved by providing a unique carrying device of flexiblematerial, and which embodies an adjustable loop for receiving andembracing the hanger hooks, and which is so arranged that when tensionedby applying force on a hand grip portion of the strap member, thehangerreceiving loop will be retained or locked in its adjustedposition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to acarrying device for a plurality of articles, and is more particularlyconcerned with a carrier device for effectively embracing the supportinghooks of a plurality of hangers having garments supported thereon so asto permit their being efficiently and conveniently transported from onelocation to another, or if desired, stored as a connected group.

l-laving in mind the inherent disadvantages of known devices for thispurpose, it is one object of the present invention to provide a carrierdevice for articles such as garment hangers, which is simple, efficient,and inexpensive to construct, which is easily operated, and when not inuse will occupy an extremely small storage space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thecharacter described which has an adjustable loop for receiving thesupporting hooks of a plurality of garment han gers, and wherein theloop is adjustable to tightly embrace and hold the hooks duringtransport of the garments.

Another object is to provide a device of the foregoing character whichincludes a novel buckle arrangement for antomatically locking andretaining the hanger hook-receiving loop in an adjusted position when apulling or hanging force is applied to the handle portion of the device.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out inthe following part of the specification, wherein detailed description isfor the purpose of fully disclosing a preferred embodiment of theinvention without placing limitations thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring to the accompanyingdrawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a carrier device accordingto the present invention, the device being disclosed as connected with aplurality of hanger hooks in a manner to permit transporting thegarments;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device, a fragmentary portionof a hanger hook being embraced by the device;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the same illustrating theinterconnection between the hook-receiving loop and hand grip-carryingloop of the device, a buckle member of the connection being in positionenabling adjustment of the hookreceiving loop; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary similar view showing the buckle member inposition locking the hook-receiving loop in its ad justed position.DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EM- BODIMENT Referring more specifically tothe drawings, for illustrative purposes, a carrier device A according tothe present invention is shown in FIG. 1 in a position of use, whereinthe device is connected with the supporting hooks 10 of a plurality orgarment hangers (not shown) of conventional construction containedwithin a garment bag 11, the supporting hooks extending through suitableopenings in the top 12 of the bag.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the carrier device is shown as being fabricatedfrom an elongate strap 13 of flexible material such as leather, plastic,or the like. This strap may be of single ply or double plies stitchedtogether, and is interconnected at its ends in any suitable manner butbeing shown as in overlapped relation as indicated by the numeral 14 soas to provide an endless band.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the band as thus formed is associated with abuckle frame structure 15 constructed of suitable metal or othermaterial to provide a structure having a central bar 16 and laterallyspaced side bars 17 and 18 which are interconnected at their ends so asto form elongate parallel loop openings 19 and 20 extending along eachside of and separated by the central bar 16.

The buckle frame structure 15 is associated with the strap 13 prior tothe connection of its ends. As shown in FIG. 3. the buckle framestructure is mounted by threading a side portion 21 of the strap throughthe loop opening 19 of the buckle. An adjacent portion of the strap isthen folded upon itself and pushed through the other opening 20 of thebuckle so as to provide a hook-receiving loop 22 on one side of thebuckle frame and a hand grip-carrying loop 23 on the other side of thebuckle. As thus arranged, it will be seen that the strap portion 21 iscarried over the central bar 16 to provide a bite section 24 whichfrictionally normally secures the side strap portion 21 against shiftingmovements in the buckle member. The strap portion 25 on the oppositeside of the band, it will be observed, passes directly through thebuckle loop opening 20 so as to form a slidable connection between theloops 22 and 23 which permits the loop 22 to be adjusted in such amanner that it tightly embraces the hanger hooks 10 which may bereceived therein.

it will be observed by reference to H6. 3 that the strap side portions21 and 25 have sections which are positioned in the loop opening 20 ofthe buckle. The strap thickness and buckle opening are so designed thatwhen the plane of the buckle frame is approximately at right angles tothe strap portion 25, or only slightly tilted with respect thereto, thestrap portion 25 is readily longitudinally slidable through the buckleopening in order to adjust the size of the hook-receiving loop 22 so asto permit its being drawn into tight embrace with the hanger hookstherein. However, when a pulling or hanging force is applied to the handgrip carrying loop, tension will be applied on the strap portion 21which will cause the buckle frame structure to be tilted in a mannershown in FIG. 4 to a position wherein the strap portions in the openingwill be lockingly gripped between the central bar 16 and side bar 18,thus retaining the hook-receiving loop 22 in its adjusted positiontightly embracing the hanger hooks 10. Displacement of the hooks will beprevented and the garments readily transported efficiently and easily.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plastic transparent panel 26 may, if desired, besecured as by stitching along side edge margins and one end thereof toprovide a pocket for receiving an identifying card having the name andaddress of the owner thereon.

From the foregoing description and drawings, it will be clearly evidentthat the delineated objects and features of the invention will beaccomplished.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of my invention and, hence, I do notwish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned,except to the extent indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carrier device for garments on hangers having supporting hooks,comprising:

a. a buckle frame formed with a central bar and laterally spaced sidebars connected at their ends to provide elongate parallel openingsseparated'by said central bar;

b. an elongated strap member having connected ends to form an endlessband, said strap being threaded through said buckle openings andseparated by the buckle into a hanger hook-receiving loop formed on oneside of said buckle frame, and a hand grip carrying loop formed in parton said one side and having a major portion formed on the other side ofthe buckle frame;

c. said band including side portion extending directly between saidloops through one of said buckle openings and connecting the adjacentend portions of each loop and being normally slidable therein from oneloop to the other for adjusting inversely the relative sizes of theloops, and the band including another side portion extending between andconnecting the other end portions of said loops and being threadedthrough both of said buckle.

openings in bite gripping engagement with said central bar. 2. Anothercarrier device according to claim 1, wherein said another side portionof the band between said loops is successively threaded through thebuckle openings in opposite directions, whereby under the carryingweight of the garments on said hangers, the buckle will be tilted intolocking gripped relation with the strap portions in said one of saidbuckle openings.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,551,2 17 Dated January 12, 1971 Inventor(s) Samuel W Yorty It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

--and-- should appear after the semioolo Column 4, line 10,

"side"; line 21,

line 11, --one-- should appear' before "Another" should read --A--.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of May 1971 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FI..ETCHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

1. A carrier device for garments on hangers having supporting hooks,comprising: a. a buckle frame formed with a central bar and laterallyspaced side bars connected at their ends to provide elongate parallelopenings separated by said central bar; b. an elongated strap memberhaving connected ends to form an endless band, said strap being threadedthrough said buckle openings and separated by the buckle into a hangerhookreceiving loop formed on one side of said buckle frame, and a handgrip carrying loop formed in part on said one side and having a majorportion formed on the other side of the buckle frame; c. said bandincluding side portion extending directly between said loops through oneof said buckle openings and connecting the adjacent end portions of eachloop and being normally slidable therein from one loop to the other foradjusting inversely the relative sizes of the loops, and the bandincluding another side portion extending between and connecting theother end portions of said loops and being threaded through both of saidbuckle openings in bite gripping engagement with said central bar. 2.Another carrier device according to claim 1, wherein said another sideportion of the band between said loops is successively threaded thrOughthe buckle openings in opposite directions, whereby under the carryingweight of the garments on said hangers, the buckle will be tilted intolocking gripped relation with the strap portions in said one of saidbuckle openings.